Stop Waiting. Build It.

You don't need anyone's yes but your own.

Here's the thing nobody told me when I started making films: the industry is not waiting for you. There's no moment where someone watches your short and calls to say you're ready. No committee. No rite of passage.

Early in my career I had a project I believed in: a solid script, a producing partner, a cast that made sense. I was pitching, networking, going to the events. And it was going nowhere. The gatekeepers weren't saying no. They were saying maybe, which is worse, because maybe keeps you in place for years. So I stopped asking, made the film myself, and got it distributed. That changed how I understood this business.

What multi-hyphenate really means

The multi-hyphenate filmmaker isn't the one who can't afford to hire everyone. It's the one who understands the whole machine and can write, produce, direct, and get a movie made. Not because you do every job yourself, but because you understand every job. You know what you need, how to ask for it, and when something's going wrong before it's too late to fix.

The Two-Question Filter

Before I commit to any project, mine or anyone else's, I run it through two questions.

Question oneIs the project strong and marketable?

A film nobody sees isn't helping anyone, including you. Marketability doesn't mean compromising your vision. It means your vision has a home in this world: a real story, told well, with an identifiable audience and a version a distributor can sell.

Question twoDoes it serve a purpose?

Why does this story need to exist right now? What does it give the audience they can't get somewhere else, and what are you uniquely positioned to tell? This is the question that separates a competent film from a meaningful one.

If you can answer yes to both, you can get it made, funded, and in front of people. If you can't, the work isn't on the pitch. It's on the project.

The phases of making an independent film

• Writing. The first draft is you figuring out the story. Don't rush the page to production.
• Producing. Budgets, financing, attaching talent, packaging. Films live or die here long before anyone calls action.
• Pre-production. Do it well and the shoot is calm. Walk into day one having shot the film once in your head.
• Directing. Know what the scene is doing emotionally and communicate it without making the actor feel like a puppet.
• Editing. The edit is where you discover what you actually shot. Fall in love with what you have.
• Post-production. Color, sound, music, VFX, deliverables. An audience forgives mediocre picture, not bad sound.
• Distribution. Treat it as a creative act, not an afterthought.
• Building your company, AI in filmmaking, and the No-Budget Project. A career is a different project than a film, and there's no reason you can't go make the thing right now.

Do this today

1. Run your current project through the Two-Question Filter. Is it strong and marketable? Does it serve a purpose?
2. If either answer is no, work on the project, not the pitch. Refine the story until both are yes.
3. Stop waiting for someone to say yes. You're the filmmaker. Go make the film.

Questions, answered

What is the Two-Question Filter?

Two questions Enrico runs every project through: is it strong and marketable, and does it serve a purpose? If both are yes, you can get it made.

What does multi-hyphenate filmmaker mean?

A filmmaker who understands every job (writing, producing, directing, editing) well enough to get a movie made, whether or not they do each job themselves.

What are the phases of making an independent film?

Writing, producing, pre-production, directing, editing, post-production, distribution, building your company, AI in filmmaking, and the no-budget project.